All's Fair in Love and War
by LilyTheNinjaGirl
Summary: Studio C. Mattory. Matt makes a mistake that might guarantee that he and Mallory will never be friends. However, they are forced to be co-workers. Mal can't find it in herself to forgive Matt, and even starts to hate him more as they continue to act in sketches together. Matt, however, finds himself falling in love with the spunky, kind-hearted girl.
1. First Impressions

**A/N: Hello everyone! So I am in fact obsessed with Studio C! If you don't know what Studio C is, I recommend you go check them out on YouTube. They are an absolutely hilarious family-friendly sketch comedy group. Anyway, the main OTP in the Studio C fandom is Mattory (Matt Meese and Mallory Everton) and I ship it soooo much! I've had a plot for a fic in my head for a while now, but I never found time to write. I recently read 2 very good Mattory fics that motivated me to write!**

 **Anyway, for the purposes of this fic, I changed a few things. Although Whitney and Mallory are still kindergarten friends and did attend BYU, they never ran in to Matt on campus and never made friends with him. They did not help him found Studio C, but became part of the cast. Also, I don't know a whole ton about Mormons, but I know enough to make this fic accurate, hopefully. Also, the order of some of the sketches might be rearranged for the purposes of this fic.**

 **Anyway, I hope you enjoy this! I already slipped in references for 2 Studio C sketches in this one chapter. If you can find both of them I'll give you a shout out in the next chapter! Enjoy!**

 **Chapter 1: First Meeting**

Matt Meese was driving down the Utah roads, full of excitement. His dream ever since he had been in highschool was to create his own sketch comedy TV show. He had attended college at BYU and after graduation, his friend Jared Shores had offered him the chance to follow his dream. It had been about eight months since graduation. Matt (along with Jared and his best friend Jason Gray) had selected a cast, found a studio, and were ready to start writing sketches. Today would be "Studio C's" very first meeting. Matt was looking forward to meeting the cast members that Jason and Jared had picked out.

As he was driving along, Matt's phone rang. It was Jason's ringtone. He glanced over at the passenger seat, where he had left his phone when he started driving, but his phone wasn't there.

" _It must have fallen onto the floor at some point_ ," Matt thought. " _I'm sure Jason's call isn't that important. I'll wait until I get to the studio to answer. Wouldn't want to have an accident_."

After a while, the ringing died down. A few seconds later, his phone rang again. Matt ignored it. After a third time, however, he started to worry. Jason always complained that Matt worried too much, but that's just the way Matt was. The phone stopped ringing. After a few minutes of silence, Matt heard the "ping, ping, ping" of multiple text message alerts, all from Jason. Now Matt was really worried. Jason didn't text a whole lot, and he never sent multiple texts in succession.

Looking ahead, he saw that the road was perfectly straight, very vacant, and the stoplight was green (well, Matt didn't see green because he was colorblind, but it was a color he normally associated with 'green'). Matt slowed his car down a bit and ducked down to grab his phone. He fingers searched around until they wrapped around his phone case. He grabbed the phone and sat back up as quickly as possible, looking ahead and realizing to his horror what was about to happen.

When he had ducked down, the light had quickly changed from yellow to red, and a woman with blonde hair was currently holding an old lady's groceries as they crossed the street together. And Matthew Meese was about to hit them. The blonde woman looked up and her face immediately changed to an expression of pure fear as Matt slammed on the brakes, tires screeching as he slid across the asphalt. He managed to stop the car mere centimeters before hitting the women.

"YOU COULD HAVE KILLED US!" the blonde woman screamed at him. "WATCH WHERE YOU'RE YOUR DRIVING! YOU'RE GOING TO GET SOMEONE INTO A CAR ACCIDENT!"

"I'm so sorry!" Matt tried to apologize. "My best friend was calling me and-"

"And what? You decided it was okay to potentially KILL people in order to talk to your friend? You make me sick!"

"Honey, we're both alive and that's all that matters. Don't take your rage out on this man, or you'll ruin your day. Plus, my milk will get warm," the old lady said, taking the blonde lady by the arm. The lady sucked in a deep breath and shot Matt a look that could freeze a hotdog. He opened his mouth to apologize profusely and explain, but the blonde woman and the old lady walked away quickly and managed to get to the other side of the street before the light turned green again.

Matt felt incredibly guilty, but the two women had disappeared from his view and a car behind him honked angrily, telling him to get going. He rolled forward, heading down the street. Still, the thought that he could have killed someone haunted his mind. He felt sick. His phone pinged several more times and reminded him why he had ever dared to take his eyes off of the road in the first place. He pulled into the parking lot of a fancy bisque restaurant. Matt pulled out his phone and glanced at the screen.

He saw a notification for three missed calls, and about thirty-three text messages. He hurriedly unlocked his phone and went to messages. They were all from Jason. He opened them and scrolled through.

" _ **Matt, bro, I know you're probably on the way to the studio but I need you to call me back, this is kind of an emergency**_."

 _"_ _ **But DON'T FREAK OUT I'm fine**_ _!"_

 _"_ _ **Well I'm kind of not fine but don't have a heart attack or something**_ _."_

 _"_ _ **I kind of tripped down the stairs and broke my wrist**_ _"_

 _"_ _ **I can't drive with a broken wrist**_ _"_

 _"_ _ **Can you take me to the ER**_ _?"_

 _"_ _ **You'll have to do the meeting without me...**_ _"_

 _"_ _ **Matt**_ _?"_

 _"_ _ **Matt**_ _?"_

 _"_ _ **Meese**_ _?"_

 _"_ _ **Helloooo**_ _..."_

Matt let out a sigh of relief, thankful that his friend was not more seriously injured. He texted Jason back.

" _ **I can take you to the ER. I'll be there in 10**_."

He'd have to be slightly late to the meeting, but Jared would understand. He pulled out of the parking lot and headed to Jason's house. When he got there, the blond man was waiting outside. He climbed into the passenger seat and struggled to buckle his seatbelt with one hand.

"Are you okay?" Matt asked immediately. Jason waved off Matt's concern.

"I'm fine, I just fractured my wrist trying to break my fall. It barely even hurts," he said. He looked at Matt. "Are you okay? Because you look pale. You weren't that worried about me, right?"

"Of course I was," Matt said. "After all, you're very delicate. Good thing you have me to put you back together." His attempt at a joke fell flat because of his monotone voice and his completely emotionless face.

"No seriously, are you alright?" Jason blurted out. 'I can tell you're upset Matt. You don't get upset often."

Matt sighed. After a long pause, he said, "I nearly killed two people today."

"What? What happened?" Jason exclaimed. Matt told Jason all of the details of the last half hour. Jason put a hand on his friend's shoulder.

"I know you feel awful Matt, but at least they're both okay. I shouldn't have texted you so much, I knew you would panic. This is my fault. I could have called an Uber. Or an ambulance."

"For a broken wrist?" Matt asked dryly. "It wasn't your fault Jason. It almost wasn't my fault either. I mean, clearly it was but I was so worried about you. I panicked. The whole think was a giant accidental mess."

"See? This is why I chastise you for worrying!" Jason joked. "But the good news is nobody got hurt. It's all in the past now. So don't let it ruin your whole day. You're about to host the first meeting for Studio C! You've dreamed about this forever, man! Don't let yourself get lost in the guilt just yet, you'll ruin this day for yourself and everyone else!"

"You're right," Matt said. "It's all in the past now."

###############

When Mallory Everton woke up that morning, she was beyond excited.

About a week ago, she had been selected as one of ten cast members for a new sketch comedy TV show. The show was called "Studio C" which she was confused about until she was told it was the name of the studio that they were going to perform in. She was also excited because her best friend since kindergarten, Whitney Call, and Whitney's husband, Stephen Meek, had also made the cast list. Today was their very first meeting. She would be meeting her fellow cast members, as well as the head of the show, Matt Meese, and the producer, Jared Shores.

She got out of bed quickly (a rare occurrence), took a quick shower, messed with her hair, and picked a cute but modest outfit from her closet. She hummed as she made herself an omelet for breakfast. She glanced at her watch. She had about two hours before she had to leave for the studio. She watched a few episodes of her favorite show before she decided to walk to the grocery store and pick up some more eggs.

Mallory headed out the door. The local grocery store was only fifteen minutes away. She enjoyed the beautiful weather as she walked. The sun was shining brightly, but a cool breeze prevented it from being too hot. Halfway there, Mallory realized that she had forgotten her phone. Oh well, that shouldn't be a big deal. She reached the grocery store and did her grocery shopping quickly. She was walking home when she saw her elderly neighbor, Ms. Davis, heading along the street with a bag of groceries.

"Hello, Ms. Davis!" she called. The old lady turned around to see who had called, and beamed when she noticed Mallory.

"Hello, my dear. Nice to see you today! Were you grocery shopping too?"

"Yes ma'am. I needed more eggs and today seemed like such a great day to take a walk. I see I'm not the only one who had the idea."

"It is a gorgeous day out," Ms. Davis replied.

"Here, let me take your bags," Mallory offered. She grabbed the plastic grocery bags before the lady could protest. Ms. Davis smiled and walked side by side with Mallory, who rearranged the two shopping bags in her hands. She wondered how many grocery bags it was physically possible to carry at one time.

They walked down the street, chatting. Ms. Davis told Mallory about her new granddaughter, and in turn Mallory told Ms. Davis about her new job as a sketch comedian.

"Oh that's wonderful, dear! And you're so pretty too! Just right for the camera!"

Mallory blushed. "I'm not that pretty," she responded humbly.

Just then, they reached a crosswalk for a normally busy road. Mallory saw the symbol that showed it was safe for pedestrians to cross and she continued walking. She heard the noise of a car and thought nothing of it. She randomly glanced to her left and then froze in sheer terror, her eyes widening and her mouth dropping open.

A car barreled towards her and Ms. Davis. She saw the man behind the wheel sit up, holding a cell phone in his hand. Suddenly, the man looked up and slammed on the brakes. His tires skidded and Mallory saw her life flash before her eyes. " _This is it_ ," she thought. " _We're going to die. And Ms. Davis' granddaughter will never know her grandmother._ " That thought made Mallory tear up. However, the car slid to a stop mere centimeters away from her. The driver rolled down his window and she could see his features clearly.

His face was lean and handsome. He had brown hair that was swept to one side. Some of it was falling into his eyes. He was breathing fast and he looked apologetic, but Mallory was far too angry to care. He could have killed her! But more importantly, he could have killed Ms. Davis! Ms. Davis had children, grandchildren, and a husband who all loved her and would be devastated if she died! That was all Mallory could think about, and she was so mad that she thought she might explode.

"YOU COULD HAVE KILLED US!" Mallory screamed at the man. "WATCH WHERE YOU'RE YOUR DRIVING! YOU'RE GOING TO GET SOMEONE INTO A CAR ACCIDENT!"

"I'm so sorry!" the man quickly tried to apologize. "My best friend was calling me and-"

Mallory fought the urge to throw up. He nearly killed two people because of a phone call? How many more peoples' lives did he risk every day, digging around for his phone and texting while he was driving?

"And what? You decided it was okay to potentially KILL people in order to talk to your friend? You make me sick!" she spat.

"Honey, we're both alive and that's all that matters. Don't take your rage out on this man, or you'll ruin your day. Plus, my milk will get warm," Ms. Davis advised her, taking her arm and squeezing it. Mallory sucked in a deep breath before shooting the man the most hate-filled look she could possibly muster. The she turned on her heel and marched away, making sure Ms. Davis could keep up with her. She didn't stop walking quickly until she turned a corner and was out of the man's sight. Then she slowed.

"I can't believe that man! The nerve!" she huffed. Ms. Davis shook her head.

"He looked very sorry, guilty, and miserable," Ms. Davis said. "He was clearly just as angry at himself as you were at him, darling. Maybe his friend's phone call was an emergency or something. Either way, he didn't mean it."

"One emergency isn't worth creating another for," Mallory spat, grinding her teeth together.

"Mallory Everton, you look at me," Ms. Davis ordered, stopping short. Mallory turned to face her. "What happened today was an accident, and nothing more. No one was hurt or killed. You are going to take a deep breath and let it go. Then you are going to go to the first meeting for your sketch comedy show, and it's going to be everything you've ever hoped. Do you understand me?"

Mallory took a deep breath and let it out. When she was angry, she tended to stay angry for a very long time. She was extremely stubborn that way. But when she was angry, she usually made herself and everyone around her miserable. "I understand," she said. "I'm sorry I got so angry."

"That's okay, I completely understand," Ms. Davis said. "It was very frightening and it was rather careless of that man. But let's forget about it and enjoy the weather as we walk home, shall we? It's all in the past now.

"Right," Mallory said. "All in the past."


	2. The Meeting

**Chapter 2**

Matt dropped Jason off at the ER. He offered to stay, but Jason forced him to go. "Go to that meeting man! Or else you'll have to reschedule! Besides, most of the cast is probably already there."

"Are you sure you're okay? I hate for you to miss the meeting," Matt said.

"No problem!" Jason replied. "I already met the cast members that Jared picked out. I just need to meet the ones you picked, and I can do that later. Plus, I can't wait for you to meet this one girl I picked!" Matt's eyes narrowed suspiciously.

"A girl you picked? Oh come on, you're not trying to set me up with someone, are you?"

"You need a girlfriend, dude! And this chick is super cute, trust me. She's a good actress too! Now go meet her!" Jason encouraged. Matt rolled his eyes and headed back out to his car. He turned on his radio to distract himself as he drove down the endless roads. Finally, he pulled into the studio parking lot. Several other cars were already there.

Matt hopped out of his car. He walked up to the door of the studio and pulled it open. The nervousness hit him as he was making his way down the hallway. He wasn't sure what he was nervous about. He certainly wasn't nervous about speaking in front of people, that's for sure. Maybe he was scared that something wouldn't work out. That his dream wouldn't be all he had hoped. He was so lost in thought that he nearly crashed into someone, but managed to stop short.

The person he was about to run over turned around. His mouth dropped open. Hers did too.

"It's you!" the both said at the exact same time. His tone was that of surprise. She had a tone of anger.

"Running into people while you're walking now too?" she asked him angrily. "What are you even doing here?"

"I'm really sorry about that!" Matt tried to apologize again. "I normally wouldn't touch my phone when driving, but-"

"There's really no excuse you can make," the blonde woman said exasperatingly. "You could have killed someone!"

"I know! I'm sor-"

"I don't want to hear apologies! You're not forgiven!" she snapped, cutting him off. "Who even are you?"

Matt gave up trying to apologize. Why was this woman even here? "My name is Matt," he introduced himself. "Matt Meese." He watched her jaw drop as she stared at him in surprise.

"You're Matt Meese?" she asked in disbelief. Before he could answer, the door swung open and Jared ushered the two of them inside.

"Glad you could make it, Matt! Is Jason going to be okay? He texted me and told me what happened," Jared said. He dragged Matt into a conversation that Matt couldn't politely get himself out of, even though he really wanted to apologize and explain everything to the blonde woman. But if she was here, she was clearly one of the cast. He could apologize to her after the meeting. Besides, right now she was squealing and hugging a woman with short, dark hair.

"Alright everyone!" Jared said loudly. He waited for everyone to fall silent. "My name Is Jared Shores! I am the producer of Studio C. Why don't we all introduce ourselves before I hand it over to my buddy, Matt! Everyone say their name and a few interesting facts about themselves."

" _What are we, in middle school_?" Matt thought to himself, chuckling. But this type of introduction would help him remember the cast members more.

The woman with short, dark hair started the introductions. "My name is Whitney Call," she said. "And I'm married to one of the nicest men in the world, Stephen Meek!" She squeezed the arm of the man standing next to her. He blushed slightly and introduced himself as well.

"I'm Stephen Meek, and this is my wonderful wife, Whitney!"

"I'm Natalie Madsen, and I enjoy skiing," a red-haired girl said. Matt wondered if this was the girl that Jason was trying to set him up with. She was pretty, but not really Matt's type.

"I'm James Perry, and my favorite food is bisque!" a blond-haired man said.

"I'm Jeremy Warner, and I have a lovely wife and a son named Felix," a man standing in the corner said.

"You also have an awesome mustache!" a black man said loudly. "I'm Stacey Harkey, and I love all food!"

The blonde woman smiled graciously, avoiding Matt's eyes. "I'm Mallory Everton, and I love kittens!" she said.

A very tall man in the corner opposite Jeremy said, "That's cat-solutely purr-fect!"

The entire room turned to look at him and he blushed a bit. "My name is Adam Berg and I enjoy puns," he said. Stacey groaned.

"Not puns!" he exclaimed.

"Puns are actually an excellent form of humor," Adam countered. "You have to be intelligent and quick-witted to come up with them!"

"Whatever you say, man," Stacey said.

Matt decided it was time to take over. "My name is Matthew Meese. You can call me Matt. Running my own sketch comedy show has been my dream since high school, and I am very excited to work with all of you!" he said. "We have one more cast member who couldn't be here today, my good friend Jason Gray. Hopefully he'll be at Monday's sketch session."

"Anyway, this first meeting is to go over the details about the shows production, our work hours, and stuff. Obviously this might change in the future, but we're required to discuss it," Jared explained. Everyone took a seat and prepared to listen.

###############

Mallory drove over to the studio, as it was much farther away from her house than the grocery store was. She checked her watch. She would be a few minutes late. She bit her lip. Hopefully they wouldn't get angry at her for this. She had been casted been Jason Gray, and she had met Jared Shores before. Both of them had been extremely nice, and Jason had talked to her for several minutes about how nice Matt Meese was.

She pulled into the parking lot and hastily parked. She locked her car and headed for the door. She randomly heard another car pull into the parking lot as she shut the door behind her and walked down the hallway. " _Good_ ," she thought. " _At least I'm not the only one who's late_."

Mallory ended up getting lost in the maze of hallways. She finally asked a friendly janitor where Studio C would be meeting. The janitor pointed her in the right direction. Finally, she found it. She was about to open the door when she heard someone walk up behind her. She turned around and saw the stranger stop himself seconds before he would have bumped into her. Her jaw dropped.

"It's you!" she exclaimed at the same time as the man. She was extremely angry. Did he follow her here or something?

"Running into people while you're walking now too?" Mallory asked the man angrily. "What are you even doing here?"

"I'm really sorry about that!" the man said in a pleading tone, looking desperate. "I normally wouldn't touch my phone when driving, but-"

"There's really no excuse you can make," Mallory said, exasperatingly. Seriously, he could have ended both of their lives. There really was no excuse for complete carelessness. "You could have killed someone!"

"I know! I'm sor-" the man tried to apologize again, but Mallory cut him off. Who even was this creep?

"I don't want to hear apologies! You're not forgiven! Who even are you?"

The man sighed, looking guilty and desperate to beg for forgiveness, but he gave in and finally told her his name. "My name is Matt," he said. "Matt Meese." Her jaw dropped again before she could stop it. This was her new boss/co-worker! This man nearly killed her!

"You're Matt Meese?" Mallory asked in pure disbelief. He opened his mouth to say something, but just then the door opened. A tall man with brown hair herded her and Matt inside. Mallory immediately spotted Whitney and ran over to her friend. She wanted to never have to interact with Matt Meese again, even though that would be literally impossible if she wanted to keep this job.

"Whit!" she cried, giving her best friend since kindergarten a hug. Whitney enthusiastically returned the warm embrace.

"Mal! I haven't seen you for a few months! How've you been?" Whitney asked.

"Have I got quite a story to tell you!" Mallory exclaimed, glancing over at Matt, who was talking to Jared. "Hi Stephen!" she greeted Whitney's husband.

"Hey Mal!" Stephen said. "Isn't great we all got into this cast!"

"Yup! Great…" Mallory trailed off. Suddenly, Jared called for everyone to be quiet.

"Alright everyone!" Jared said loudly. He waited for a moment and Mallory stopped talking. "My name is Jared Shores! I am the producer of Studio C. Why don't we all introduce ourselves before I hand it over to my buddy, Matt! Everyone say their name and a few interesting facts about themselves."

Mallory chuckled to herself at the icebreaker game he told them to play. Oh well, it would help her to know more about her castmates. On her left, Whitney took it upon herself to get things going.

"My name is Whitney Call," she said. "And I'm married to one of the nicest men in the world, Stephen Meek!" She squeezed Stephen's arm. Mallory smiled fondly.

"I'm Stephen Meek, and this is my wonderful wife, Whitney!" Stephen said.

"I'm Natalie Madsen, and I enjoy skiing," said the red-haired girl standing to Stephen's left. She looked really nice, and was the only other girl present besides Mallory and Whitney.

"I'm James Perry, and my favorite food is bisque!" a blond-haired man said.

"I'm Jeremy Warner, and I have a lovely wife and a son named Felix," a man standing in the corner said. Mallory smiled warmly at that. She also took a minute to admire his mustache. Apparently, the black man sitting casually beside Jeremy did too.

"You also have an awesome mustache!" he said loudly. "I'm Stacey Harkey, and I love all food!" Mallory giggled quietly. Stacey seemed like a fun person.

She realized with a start that everyone was looking at her. She smiled and avoided looking at Matt as she introduced herself. "I'm Mallory Everton, and I love kittens!" she said. It was kind of a stupid fact to say, but she had been taken by surprise, and she did love kittens. They were so adorable.

The tall man in the corner opposite Jeremy said, "That's cat-solutely purr-fect!"

Mallory turned to look at him along with the rest of the people in the room. He blushed a bit. "My name is Adam Berg and I enjoy puns," he said. Stacey groaned loudly.

"Not puns!" he exclaimed.

"Puns are actually an excellent form of humor," Adam countered. "You have to be intelligent and quick-witted to come up with them!"

"Whatever you say, man," Stacey said. Mallory smiled a bit. She personally had no opinion on puns, but at least Adam had cleared the awkwardness of the room.

Suddenly, Matt started talking, interrupting the pun debate. "My name is Matthew Meese. You can call me Matt. Running my own sketch comedy show has been my dream since high school, and I am very excited to work with all of you!" he said. "We have one more cast member who couldn't be here today, my good friend Jason Gray. Hopefully he'll be at Monday's sketch session."

Mallory wondered where Jason was. She hoped he was alright. He seemed like a very awesome and cool person when he casted her.

"Anyway, this first meeting is to go over the details about the shows production, our work hours, and stuff. Obviously, this might change in the future, but we're required to discuss it," Jared explained. Mallory took a seat next to Whitney and Stephen and prepared to listen.

After the meeting, Mallory introduced herself to Natalie, and the two girls hit it off immediately. Whitney came over and the three girls started chatting and laughing, as girls tend to do. On the other side of the room, Stephen and James were discussing their favorite types of bisque. Stacey interrupted and said that all bisque was cool. Jeremy had left right after the meeting, and Adam was talking to Jared and Matt.

Everybody slowly began to trickle out of the room. James, Stacey, and Adam left. Then Stephen came over and told Whitney that they needed to go. Whitney hugged Mallory again and promised that they would have lunch soon, and invited Natalie as well. Mallory and Natalie worked out the plans for lunch until Natalie looked at her watch. "Gotta dash!" she said apologetically, grabbing her purse and heading out the door.

Mallory grabbed her own purse and her light summer jacket. She was about to head out the door when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned.

"Mallory?" It was Matt asking.

"What do you want?" she asked. Her tone wasn't as harsh and cutting as before, but it still held some vinegar. Matt frowned.

"A chance to explain," he replied. Mallory sighed.

"Matt, I don't want to hear your explanations. I know we have to work together, but could you please make it easier on me and just leave me alone?" she requested. His frown deepened and his brown eyes dimmed.

"But-"

"Please?" Mallory asked again. "Please just let me be. I don't want to talk to you right now. Or maybe ever. Please just leave me alone." She just wanted to forget about today and the fact that Matt Meese ever existed. Her stupid angry stubborn side wouldn't let her drop the situation. Mallory knew that if he left her alone, she would probably get over it and forgive him eventually. Maybe even be friends. But not right now.

"Okay," Matt said quietly. He took his hand off of her shoulder and she turned and left.

###############

Matt watched sadly as Mallory left. He had hoped that he could apologize and explain, maybe make it up to her somehow. He almost didn't let her leave. But when she looked up at him with her sparkling blue eyes, it sent a jolt through his body. They were so pretty. And they were pleading. He couldn't refuse those eyes.

"Okay…" he said, closing his eyes tightly and removing his hand from her shoulder. She turned and left. Matt watched her walk away sadly. He frowned. For some reason, he felt overly-sad. He typically was a worrier (even though he generally was an extremely happy worrier), but for some reason even his heart felt sad. It felt like his heart had tied itself into knots.

Matt sighed deeply and forced himself to move. He grabbed his keys and headed out the door preparing to drive himself back to a very empty and very lonely home.


	3. Take Your Time

**Chapter 3: Take Your Time**

A week and four days had passed since the meeting. It was a beautiful Saturday afternoon, and Natalie, Whitney, and Mallory headed to a cute little coffee shop to sit down and get to know each other better. The ladies picked a seat outside so that they could enjoy the weather, and they casually chatted.

"Well, our first official day of work is tomorrow!" Whitney exclaimed. "Did anyone have any good sketch ideas?"

"I was watching a documentary on the Wildlife Channel last night about how male seahorses carry the babies instead of the female. I was thinking about trying to write sketch about a pregnant male seahorse being mocked by his wife and friends," Natalie said.

"We should write a funny sketch about pregnant women!" Mallory said. "That has many possibilities for humor!"

"We should write that together," Whitney suggested. "Maybe after we get used to writing sketch comedy."

"Yeah, I'm really nervous. I don't want to write something that nobody thinks is funny. I don't think it would be too embarrassing though, the rest of the cast seems really nice," Natalie commented.

"Plus Jason and Matt are going to bring in a couple of sketches that they've been working on to see how we like them. That'll give us a feel for the material," Whitney said.

"Good," Mallory sighed in relief. "That way we'll know kinda what they're aiming for in humor."

"Speaking of Jason and Matt, what do you think about them?" Natalie asked Mallory. Mallory blinked.

"What do you mean, what do I think about them?" she asked.

"Well, you looked sad about Jason being gone. You know he's married, right? And you were shooting death glares at Matt for the whole meeting!" Natalie exclaimed.

"I was sad because Jason was the one who cast me and he seemed really nice," Mallory said.

"Yeah, I was talking to Stephen and he said that Matt said that Jason broke his wrist tripping down the stairs. Matt drove him to the ER, which was why he was late to the meeting," Whitney explained. "Wait a second, weren't you late too Mal? You walked in with him..."

Natalie raised her eyebrows suggestively. Mallory felt herself flush red with anger. "Don't you dare even suggest I would like that man!" she said angrily. Natalie and Whitney looked taken aback.

"Woah, okay. I didn't realize that would make you so upset!" Natalie apologized, hands raised in a gesture of surrender.

"Mal, what's wrong? You seemed really angry at that meeting. Were you angry at Matt?" Whitney asked.

Mallory told Whitney and Natalie the story about the day of the meeting and her close shave with death. They were both horrified.

"Matt nearly ran you over?" Natalie exclaimed. "But he seems like such a nice person! I'm sure he didn't mean to!"

"I know. The more I think about it the more I calm down. But then I get angry all over again. I'm sure I just need a few weeks. Matt's probably really nice and stuff. I'll just avoid him and watch him interact with others to see if he is actually nice or if he's a jerk in disguise."

"I don't think he's a jerk, Mal. But I don't know anything about him either. If you need time, then take it. I'm sure you'll see how nice he is," Whitney advised.

"Well now that you mention it, I ran across one of his old girlfriends the other day," Natalie said. "When I was leaving the studio after the meeting. She was a real nasty piece of work."

"Was she tall, with light brown hair and a lot of makeup?" Mallory asked. "I might have passed her on the way out."

"Yes, that's her!" Natalie said. "She asked me if I knew Matt Meese and when I said that I worked with him she got all angry and asked me a bunch of questions. She said they used to date before she dumped him. She said that she's planning on dating him again."

"Did she consult Matt about those plans?" Whitney asked. Natalie shrugged.

"Matt doesn't seem the type to date someone like her," Natalie said, wrinkling her nose. "I wonder how much of their relationship was mutual?"

"Well, his dating life is his private business. We shouldn't be poking our noses into it," Mallory said crossly. "Anyway, how have you and Stephen been, Whitney?"

###############

Matt groaned as he pressed "Deny Call" for what felt like the 600th time. After Mallory had left and he was heading out to his car after the meeting, he was bombarded by his old "girlfriend". Well, she considered herself his old girlfriend. They had never really had a relationship. Matt took her out on a few dates, but she had promptly run off with some other guy. Matt had never really liked her much anyway, so he wasn't sorry.

Apparently, she decided that she was 'SO SORRY FOR LEAVING HIM' and she 'WANTED TO GET BACK TOGETHER AS MUCH AS HE DID' (both of these are quotes from her mouth). Matt had promptly told her he wasn't interested and got into his car. Now she was calling him non-stop. As much as he hated blocking people (he just felt like it was so rude, and he was too polite) he went into Settings and blocked her number.

Finally, some peace and quiet without the ringing phone. Matt turned on the TV. He surfed the channels for a little while, but he found nothing good. Political scams, cooking shows, some sappy romance movie, a workout channel. He settled on the workout channel and sat watching that for a few minutes. Suddenly, inspiration struck. He whipped out his laptop and started writing down a sketch.

That Monday, he headed back to the studio. He got there early and had plenty of time to greet Jason.

"Hey man, how's your wrist?" he asked.

"It's totally fine. As long as I don't have to do any heavy lifting in sketches, I'll be okay. Hey, you like that cute girl I casted?"

"Which one?" Matt asked. "There are two that may or may not be single."

"Mallory Everton," Jason said. "She's got some real talent, and she seemed super nice."

"Very un-amusing coincidence," Matt said. "You know that blonde girl and the older lady I nearly killed last week?"

"Are you still all wound up about that?" Jason asked. "If you need someone to blame Matt, it's my fault. I shouldn't have texted you so many times. I could have called my wife, she would have left work."

"No, it's not your fault Jason," Matt replied. "But the woman I nearly ran over was Mallory. She's really upset about that. I've been trying to apologize but she finally told me to leave her alone." Jason winced.

"Maybe I can talk to her?" he suggested. Matt shrugged. Just then Whitney and Stephen walked in. "Hey guys! Ready for the first day of writing and acting out sketches?"

"Hi Jason, Matt!" Stephen greeted. Whitney was slightly wary of Matt, still unsure of his true intentions. But her worries melted away as he gave her a wide, sincere smile. He looked so excited about this, like a little kid. His eyes were lit up.

"Hey!" she greeted them both. They chatted while the rest of the cast came in. When Mallory got there, she and Natalie went and sat on the opposite side of the room from Matt. Whitney looked up from her conversation with Matt about college and winked at Mallory.

"Alright everyone!" Matt called for silence. He sat down in his chair. "So Jason and I promised that today we'd start working on sketches. We both brought in a few that we've been working on. Do you want to start, Jason?"

"Nah man, you start!" Jason said.

"Okay, well last night I was watching a workout channel when inspiration struck. I jotted down a basic script. James, why don't you read the lines for the main character, he's really the only one who talks. Can Stephen play the P90X grad and can... hmm, Mallory play the character that shows modified? Stacey and Jeremy, you play the extras, and who wants to be the pastor?"

"I might as well play the pastor!" Jason volunteered.

"Okay!" Matt said. "We'll just start with a cold-read. Let's go!"

By the end of the session, they had practiced and casted two entire sketches, both from Matt. They ended up changing around the casting for P90X, having Matt play the main character after discovering that no one else could do clap-push ups. They had Jeremy as the other grad, but left Mallory as modified. The other sketch they completed was Channel Surfing.

Mallory really liked Channel Surfing, but she wasn't sure about P90X. That sketch had kind of an arrogant tone to it. She knew she was probably over-thinking it. It was pretty funny, especially her part. But why would Matt cast her as that character? She told him to leave her alone! Was he making fun of her by giving her such a lazy part? She asked Whitney about it.

"Mal I think you're totally over-thinking it! I talked with him earlier and he does seem super nice and funny. He probably just wanted to give you a chance to show what you could do! Besides, If you weren't right for that part the group as a whole would have changed it!"

"So you're saying I'm perfect to play the lazy character?" Mallory joked. Whitney laughed.

"That's not what I meant and you know it!" she said.

"Hey, the whole cast is going out for lunch today. Wanna come?" Stacey asked, coming over to them.

"Sure, we'll come!" Whitney agreed before Mallory could say anything.

All of Studio C made their way in separate cars to a pizzeria on the corner. They settled at a very long table, and began examining the menus. "Three large pizzas should work for all of us!" Stacey said. "I like three-meat pizza, anyone else?"

"I like three-meat," Jason said.

"Me too!" Natalie and James chorused.

"Does anybody else like pineapple and ham?" Jeremy asked. Whitney raised her hand.

"I like plain cheese," Mallory and Matt said at the exact same time. Mallory flushed red and stared furiously at her menu. "But I'll eat pineapple and ham too," she added hastily. She really wasn't a huge fan of pineapple and ham pizza, but she would have to eat it. The entire cast was making "I ship them" faces at each other. Mallory wanted to disappear into a hole forever.

On the other side of the table, Matt fought to keep a poker-face. "I still want plain cheese," he said. Jason nudged him in the side, but Matt kicked him beneath the table. Jason visibly winced. When Matt had the courage to look up from his menu, he swiftly glanced in Mallory's direction. She looked angry, her head buried in her menu. Her hair was falling in her face, and Matt fought the over-whelming urge to walk all the way to the other side of the table and brush it behind her ear. He couldn't let himself think like that. Not about someone who hated him.

At least ten minutes later, three hot, steamy pizzas arrived and everyone dug in. Nobody really ate the plain cheese except for Matt, which was a good thing because Matt ate ten slices! What could he say? He was a stress-eater, and he was currently very stressed out. He couldn't stop himself from sneaking peeks at Mallory. She was deep in conversation with Whitney and James. She laughed, and it sounded like music in his ears. Matt bit his lip and focused on eating another slice of pizza.

"You're paying Mal quite a bit of attention," Jason whispered in his ear smugly.

"Is it that obvious?" Matt mumbled.

"Only because I know you," Jason reassured him. "I'm sure she'll come around. She can't hate you forever. It's only been like a week. She just needs a little bit of time."

###############

Apparently, Mallory did not need just a little bit of time.

It had been three months.

Three agonizing months of Matt's failed attempts to interact with her. Three months of watching her laugh, chat, and bond with all of the other cast members. Three months of her shifting away from him and agreeing to perform sketches with him in great reluctance. Which was a shame, because the entire cast kept writing sketches and agreeing that Matt and Mallory should perform them together, either alone or with others. Matt would have been annoyed at the casts' obvious attempts to get Mal to warm up to him, but he found himself slowly sleeping into a deep pit of insanity, which some people call 'Love".

He couldn't help it. His brain screamed at him that it was not a logical option. Other than his "ex-girlfriend" who had been pursuing him to no avail for the past three months, Matt had only been in one other romantic relationship. One other romantic relationship that nearly ripped out his heart and shattered him to pieces.

Jason could tell Matt was lonely. He could also tell that Matt was scared. Really scared. For Matt, falling in love was something to be avoided at all costs, something that could only end in heartbreak. It was even worse, because the object of his affection didn't even like him.

Mallory could very confidently state that she didn't hate Matt. In those three months, her anger subsided and she didn't hate him as much. She still disliked him, and she found reasons to dislike him. When he played a jealous war-general in a sketch called "18th Century's Man" it only contributed to her negative opinion of him.

Sure, Matt was nice enough. He laughed and told jokes. He seemed pleasant and funny. But he didn't talk a WHOLE ton. Obviously, he threw his heart into his acting and sketch writing. But he felt... off. Mallory couldn't put her finger on it. An aura surrounded him that didn't sit right with her. By the time that she had stopped being angry and started being more uncomfortable around him than anything, she had been so used to avoiding him that she didn't even think about it.

She participated in sketches with him. But she always found herself subconsciously sitting on the opposite side of the room. During breaks between live shows she busied herself with costume changes or talked to other cast members. She always left either before or after him, and made sure she was never the only person in a room with him. Whenever he looked at her, her eyes hardened and wished him harm.

She knew part of it was probably just original dislike. Have you ever heard bad reviews about a movie before seeing it? Have you ever heard a lot of criticism and negative opinions about a movie or parts of it before you've watched it? And then you watch it, and even if it's a decent movie, you can only think about the negative things about it? That's kind of how it was for Mallory.

Matt's 'off-feeling aura' was there. Mallory wasn't crazy for noticing. The other cast members who didn't really know Matt didn't notice. He was a good actor, and his natural sense of humor and leadership allowed him to present himself as such a carefree and amusing person that it never occurred to them to realize that something was off. Except for Mallory and Jason. Mallory realized because she was subconsciously looking for ways to see through his disguise and see if he was really a nice person, and Jason noticed because he had known Matt for such a long time.

Jason decided it was time that he did something. It was time to seek help from the rest of Studio C.

 **A/N: The whole thing about Matt eating ten slices of pizza is actually a funny story. There's a Studio C live-event where the cast plays a game to see how much they know about each other, and one fact was that someone in the cast ate 10 (maybe that wasn't the exact number, but it's close) slices of pizza! And it turned out to be Matt! I was so surprised to hear that cuz he's tiny (he weighs 130 pounds). But he can also do clap push-ups with apparent ease and do shoulder angel gymnastics, so... Tiny but mighty!**


End file.
